Chief Rabbis: Rabbi Killing Doubles 9th of Av Mourning

Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yonah Metzger issued a joint call, Sunday evening, for introspection and awakening during Tuesday's scheduled fast for the 9th of Av, which highlights the destruction of the First and Second Temples among other Jewish tragedies. In their call, the rabbis noted the recent murder of Rabbi Elazar Abuhatzeira.

The rabbis said they were not just mourning the ancient destruction, almost two thousand years ago, but about the most recent tragedy. They said such an atrocity, carried out by a member of the Jewish people, had not happened since the killing of Zecharia the prophet.